Ani-Mator

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Ani-Mator was an evil but ultimately insane scientist who lorded over an artificial race of humanoid animals of his own creation before being defeated by the New Mutants in order to end his cruel treatment of the creatures, who were now self-aware.

History

Doctor Animus's real name is lost. He began his career as a medical researcher hired to test the efficiency of some new farmacs. However, he used the facilities to perform strange research on his own. He forged the results of the experiments he was supposed to do. For a time he managed to get his own way. However, his forged data caused the firms to produce letal drugs and the death of many people, which led to a police investigation and to Animus being discovered. Animus was fired and jailed and, during this time, he became mad.
However, Animus's research was found by anti-mutant organization The Right, which was looking for a way to ensure Human supremacy over mutants. The Right decided that Animus could find a way to stop mutations and the powers resulting from them. Thus, the Right managed to get Animus's freedom and sent him to an isolated lab-island, Paradise.
But Animus did not like the Right or his direct boss, Cameron Hodge. Instead of helping them with their goals, he studied the means to create intelligent antropomorphic animals, which he intended to use as a permanent slave species for humanity. By patenting them, he decided, he would make a fortune and become famous.
He spent years working on the first litter of these beings, and later he developed and trained the subjects, which he named the Ani-Mates. Being clinically insane, Animus used cruel and ruthless methods, giving food only in exchange for success. However, apparently Animus also killed some of the "successful ones" at whim. Notice that many Ani-Mates survived despite of these treatments.
The Ani-Mates were created to obtain the advantages of human intellect and humanoid form, at the same time keeping the attributes of the animals. Seven litters of Ani-Mates were create, A to G. G litter was killed before birth. Most had some rudimentary languages combining animal noises and English.
One of the Ani-Mates was a flying being called Bird Brain, who managed to escape from the island and befriended the New Mutants. With the New Mutants as a reinforcement, Bird Brain returned to the island to rescue the other Ani-Mates and stop the experiments.
During the ensuing fight, Animus tried to kill Wolfsbane from the New Mutants with a gun, but he instead killed her beloved Cypher. In retailiation, Magik exiled Animus to her dimension of Limbo, where he was given to demons as food.
The surviving Ani-Mates remained on Paradise. The Right was destroyed soon afterwards, so their existence is a well-kept secret and they have likely managed to exist in relative peace without their mad tormentor being around to terrorise them.